Orlando
Orlando, otherwise known as Vito, Vita, Bio (or Bion) of Thebes, Roland, and O, is an immortal who is cursed with frequent gender changes. She was born in Thebes in 1260 BC to the blind prophet Tiresias. Orlando, or, as he/she was then known, was born, female, in Thebes in 1260 BC to the blind prophet Tiresias. Tiresias was unique among the Ancient Greeks, as he was cursed by the goddess Hera to become female for seven years, after he hit a pair of copulating snakes. While she was female, she became a priestess of Hera, and, incidentally, a prostitute. It was during this time that she gave birth to several daughters, including Manto, who inherited Tiresias’ gift of prophecy and became an Oracle of Delphi, and Bio. When Tiresias found the snakes copulating again seven years later and trod on them, he returned back to his male form. Unfortunately, when Bio was ten, his gender-changing heritage caught up with him, and she transformed into a boy. Tiresias was disgusted by this, and embarrassed of this reminder of his unfortunate past, and so in 1250 BC he sold his son to pirate slavers as an “exotic novelty”. It was around this time that Thebes was defeated by the Epigoni, who were the sons of the famed Seven Against Thebes. Thankfully, Bio was not involved in this, but his father was able to organise a mass exodus from the city. The pirate slavers that Bio was sold to taught the young boy the techniques of sailing, and it is here that he first learned combat, as well as nautical lessons such as sails and knot work. However, these days could not last, and soon he was sold in Egypt to the Pharoah Ramses II, otherwise known as Ozymandias. Ozymandias had a penchant for androgynous children, and so Bio quickly became one of his favourites- until Bio became too old in 1241 BC, and signed up for an expedition to the African nation of Punt, which had prominent trading links with Egypt. However, in the year it took to sail around the Horn of Africa, Bio had once more become female, and so was forced to escape through the jungle, fearing the actions of her crewmates. It was at this time when Bio reached Kor, located in Uganda, and found the mythical Pool of Fire and Life deep within the expansive cave system. As proved by the local Queen, Ayesha, She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed, the pool has life-giving properties, rendering whoever bathes in it immortal, although it does not grant invulnerability. Curiously, Bio reported “old names and a map carved at its edge”, which seemed to point to the nation of Abyssinia, and, more specifically, the City of Immortals, a community of people who had also bathed in the pool. These included such notable people as Homer, King Kull, Old Man Paley, and the Gnarly Man. Orlando stayed at the City of Immortals for a several decades, but, stagnating, was sent by the Abyssinian chief Memnon to Ilium, now Troy. Bio had by this time changed his name to Bion, to show his male gender. This was 1184 BC, and so Bion felt his first war- the famed Trojan War. He became familiar with many of the half-god, half-man race of Heroes, although they had degenerated since the time of Hercules, and so the current race of heroes included such psychologically unstable people as Ajax, Achilles, Odysseus and Aeneas. He was also quite familiar with Helen of Troy, who he was to meet again several centuries later. Orlando escaped Troy with Aeneas, who was the son of Aphrodite and Anchises. Having been told by the gods to escape, Aeneas assembled a group of friends and family called the "Aeneads", which included Achates, a childhood friend; Achises, his father; Ascanius, his son; Iapyx, healer and brother of Icarus; Bion, a fellow warrior; Mimas; Migestus; and Sergestus. As Aeneas was the son of Aphrodite, the God of Love, he was intensely attractive, and frequently broke hearts wherever he went. Category:People Category:Pages Category:Immortals